Born Yesterday
by The-Vegetable-Queen
Summary: Sasuke remembers the first smile he'd ever seen. It was on the face of the first girl he'd ever seen. He may have been born yesterday, but he knows true beauty when it smiles at him. AU SasukexFem!Naruto


Darkness…

**A/N: This is an AU Sci-Fi Fem!Naruto/Sasuke. Basically, the gang's all here… and they're all genetically altered test subjects that are being trained as weapons…. Most Kekkei Genkai and special abilities are explained away as genetic alterations. This takes place in modern-day Japan, but most of the story stays inside the testing facility. **

Things To Know

**Kyuu - 9 **

**Hyaku - 100 **

Hyakuichi - 101

**Sanjuushi – 34 **

**(The Hypothalamus is a portion of the brain directly relating to expressing emotions.)**

OxOxBorn YesterdayxOxO

Darkness….

(It was always dark here… and so _wet_….)

But really, I don't mind. It's always been this way, for as long as I can remember…

(Since yesterday…)

But whatever happened before yesterday doesn't really matter anymore, because I can hear _something… _something other than the rasp of my breathing tubes and the pounding of my heart.

(Voices…)

Now, having been born yesterday has not allowed me time to develop ample communicative skills… or any skills at all, really, but I can understand the two men perfectly.

(As if there wasn't several gallons of embryonic fluid and bulletproof glass between us.)

They are talking about me….

(My eyes.)

"_Are you sure the extra manipulation to the choroids will have the desired effects?" _

"_We've reduced the mass of the cornea, which has cut the amount of pressure put on the retina between this model and the previous one in half." _

"_But will that keep him sane? Will it prevent-" _

"_Another… episode? There's also the personality modification. This model will be less… rigid." _

"_Don't you mean robotic?"_

"_No. It was a minor miscalculation when we removed that portion of the hypothalamus." _

"_Seventy-four Uchiha models were... you know. The rest had to be put down." _

"_They were all defected." _

"_Let's continue with the vivification." _

Liquid that had suspended me begins to drain away, leaving me collapsed against the glass. A hatch opens and strong arms lift me from my enclosing prison.

(My mother's womb.)

Tubes that had fed me pure oxygen all my life

(For a day)

Are pulled away, leaving me gasping at this harsher air, this air that burns as I breathe it.

I am laid upon a stiff table, dripping wet, naked as the day I was born

(Yesterday…)

Every part of me is hypersensitive:

I can taste the chemical levels in the air with my gaping mouth

(Nitrogen 78.09, Oxygen 20.95, Argon 0.93, Carbon Dioxide 0.03, Other trace gases),

I can smell the anxiety of the two surrounding my limp body

(The uncertain one was sweating rather profusely),

I can hear the thrumming of our hearts

(132 beats per minute, 213 beats per minute, 166 beats per minute for myself, Stinky, and Certain; respectively),

I can feel every point of contact between the metal slab and myself

(98 Steel content, 2 Tin).

And then I open my eyes

Everything stands out with stark clarity; the table,

(5 feet tall, 7 feet long, 4 feet wide)

the room,

(11 feet tall, 12 feet long, 17 feet wide)

The row of computers, the _almost_-invisible door, the vast array of medical and sensory equipment, and most importantly, the faces of the two men leaning over me anxiously.

Certain has silver hair tied back on the nape of his neck and wide-set brown eyes that shine out behind a large set of round glasses.

Stinky's hair is covered by a black cloth, as is the lower portion of his face. Dark glasses obscure his eyes, and deeply tanned skin stretches across his cheekbones.

As soon as I had opened my eyes, a sharp breath of relief had fluttered out through Stinky's face cloth, and he began reeling off medical analyses as if his life depended on it.

(Maybe it did…)

"Heart rate raised only slightly above normal, blood pressure 110 over-!"

"Yoroi." Certain's tone was stiff and stopped him mid-recital. After a stifling glare he returned his penetrating gaze to me.

Meanwhile, I was in shock. Stinky's – _Yoroi's _face had been covered when he had spoken, but now, I had seen someone _speak._ Use his lips and vocal cords in a pattern to allow communication between himself and an organism of similar structure. Transfer preconceived ideas for others to analyze and respond to.

And I know I can do it to. Put words to my thoughts.

(More like half-formed notions).

My eyes…

(The eyes, the eyes, always the eyes…).

Certain chose to utter a second word.

(For my viewing pleasure.)

"Hi."

And so I responded the way anyone

(Born yesterday)

would…

"…Hello…"

OxOxBorn YesterdayxOxO

Akado Yoroi stared at his superior in surprise, directly over the boy they were discussing.

"We're putting him in with Kyuu?"

"For the moment."

"Shouldn't we give him his own room, Kabuto-san?"

"No." Yoroi continued to stare. Realizing his dissatisfaction, Kabuto continued with a sigh. "He needs to adjust to the abrupt awakening well, or else we might have another… _incident_… on our hands."

"…Of course… but how would putting him in with…_ that one_… help him to adjust?" Kabuto allowed himself a small twitch of the lips at his subordinate's reference to number nine. She was rather… _infamous_… amongst the testers and the tech-medics.

"The others see her as a leader and often look to her for comfort. I'm sure she'll be able to provide that solace to… I'm sorry, what number is he again?"

Eager to make himself (and his medical charts) at least _somewhat _useful, Yoroi quickly flipped through to find the number.

"Ah… he's Hyakuichi…."

"Really? So then Hyaku…" Kabuto wasn't much one for melodrama, but he did see the significance.

"Yes, he was the one that…" Yoroi trailed off with a funny little clearing of his throat.

No one ever said what Hyaku did. Was there even a word for it? The systematic _slaughter_ of people that shouldn't exist, by law didn't exist and in the eyes of any but themselves weren't even human?

No, no there wasn't.

OxOxBorn YesterdayxOxO

I was bored, I remember that much.

I had been torn between wondering why they had shut me in one of the Solitaries (I really hadn't done anything this time!) and debating whether I would have shrimp or miso ramen today at the Feeders.

And then he walked in.

He looked about sixteen, the most handsome boy I'd ever seen, and that's saying something. (Me having spent at least four years in close-quarters with Sanjuushi)

(_Neji…_).

Ebony eyes clashed beautifully with his porcelain-white skin, aristocratic features were softened by the uncertainty in his eyes. Inky hair spiked up in the back, but towards the front framed his face gracefully and _almost_ – but _not quite_ (Not for _my _eyes) covered the tiny red and white fan symbol stamped on his right temple.

Well, _that_ was unexpected. I hadn't seen any Uchiha models since before the massacre… since before Hyaku…

(_Itachi…_).

I was shocked, of course, but that's never a reason not to be friendly… or obnoxious, depending on what the situation calls for. This was definitely the former.

I smiled brightly at the boy, and patted the bench next to me. He looked uncomprehendingly at me.

Ah, so that's why I was here. This guy was straight out of the Tube.

Extra patience would be required, then. I slowly unfolded my self from the narrow bench and approached him. Carefully, carefully, I took his hand and led him back to where I had been (You never know with Tubies, especially the Uchihas).

After giving him a once-over (He was wearing the standard Tubie attire, a dark gray long-sleeved turtle-neck with black shorts, which is what most had on before they gave us clothing better suited to our…_specialties…_) with my smile firmly in place, I broke the comfortable silence.

"Hey there, what number are you?" His face didn't change.

"…Number?" _Jeeze,_ I'm thinking, _how long has this kid been out of the Tube? An _hour?

"Didn't they give you a number? Like, for instance, me, I'm Kyuu." I could tell he now understood, but only from the nod he gave me. His face stayed blandly disaffected.

I was beginning to wonder if this really was a new model or just a Recycle. Had they torn out some of his hypo-whatsit, too?

"Hyakuichi." His response startled me out of my reverie.

"Y'know, 'Kuichi-kun, all of us here also have real names, too, just like the Coats." He tilted his head to the side in confusion, face blank, an indicator for me to go on. "Like we have our _numbers _for them to call us, and our _names _for us to call each other. My _number _is Kyuu, my _name _is Naruto."

"…I don't have a name." My smile broadened; this was always my favorite part of taking care of Tubies.

"Neither did any of us, straight out of the Tube. Let's think of one." He continued staring at me. "Umm… how about Sasuke?"

"Why?" _what was he asking?_

"Well, I like how it sounds."

"… Sasuke is fine."

OxOxBorn YesterdayxOxO

Kabuto says this - _Kyuu_ - will help me adjust. I'm just hoping she's not as smelly as Yoroi. As he ushers me into the room and shuts the door behind me, I finally catch sight of her.

I think she's probably beautiful, but there's really no way to tell. Who am I supposed to compare her to? Yoroi?

(He probably has that facecloth for a reason.)

Her golden hair is cropped short, silkily framing her elfin face

(Mile high cheekbones, big almond-shaped eyes, straight brows).

Her skin is tawny, but soft. Three narrow scars trace through her cheeks

(Where had she gotten those?)

Her body is lithe and cat-like, her torso clothed in blue and orange, with capped sleeves and a high collar open near her chin by a zipper traveling down to her black shin-length pants.

Her eyes, though, are what draw me in. Large and shining, those beautiful blue eyes stare unseeing at a point beyond the tiny room

(5 feet wide, 5 feet long, 7 feet high).

With my entrance, she turns towards me.

And then she _smiles_.

(I've never been smiled at before…)

Her pink lips curve up, the left side higher than the right; a special mischievous twirl hinting at many more smiles to come. It exposes two rows of gently rounded pearl-white teeth.

(And two little fang-like canines).

Her whole face lights up, and that's how I _know_ she's beautiful, even though she's the first girl I've ever seen in my whole life.

(A day).

A slender hand pats the space beside her. Is this some form of communication similar to speech?

Her smile unfaltering, she gracefully unfolds herself and walks towards me.

(It looks like she's dancing.)

Her hand is warm and dry in my own, still slightly damp, one as she leads me to the bench.

"Hey there, what number are you?" The abrupt greeting catches me off guard, and I wonder at the latter portion of her phrase.

"…Number?" Her smile drops minutely, and a slight line makes its way between her corn silk-blonde brows.

"Didn't they give you a number? Like, for instance, me, I'm Kyuu." I nod in understanding.

_Nine._ Her number is so much lower than mine.

(She probably wasn't born yesterday).

"Hyakuichi." She seems startled.

"Y'know, 'Kuichi-kun, all of us here also have real names, too, just like the Coats." Names? Coats? '_Kuichi-kun? _ My head is cocked in confusion. "Like we have our _numbers _for them to call us, and our _names _for us to call each other. My _number _is Kyuu, my _name _is Naruto."

(It was a pretty name.)

"…I don't have a name." Her smile returns full-force, and I'm a little scared.

"Neither did any of us, straight out of the Tube. Let's think of one." The _Tube? _I don't understand half of what comes out of this girl's – _Naruto's _mouth. "Umm… how about Sasuke?"

(It was a good name.)

"Why?" I'm not really asking 'Why that name?' It's more along the lines of 'Why you? Why _me?_ Why even have names at all? Aren't numbers good enough?'

"Well, I like how it sounds."

(As long as she liked it…)

"… Sasuke is fine."

**OxOxBorn YesterdayxOxO**

**A/N: Please review, because it motivates me. Also, I'm leaving on vacation this afternoon, and I won't be back for a week (no laptop to write with!). **

**But while I'm gone, you should probably check out my Favorite Stories. There's some really great stuff in there! **

**Next Chapter: Sasuke is introduced to the others!**


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